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Machine Gun (Q4)
For multiplayer strategies, see Machine Gun (Q3). The Machine Gun is a compact, fully automatic assault rifle operated by the Space Marine Corps as their primary service rifle. Small, highly accurate and all-purpose, the rifle is the most common Human weapon on Stroggos and commonly used by Tactical Stroggs. The Machine gun also appears in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars as a GDF weapon which can be operated by the Soldier (labeled GPMG) or as a fixed turret on a vehicle or in a guard tower (also labeled as GPMG). There is also the GDF assault riffle, which looks more like the Q4 machine gun, which handles like a compact GPMG. Design The Machine Gun is a very compact weapon, ranging to about twenty nine inches long, but is also very bulky. It has an extendable shoulder stock (which is always retracted), an ejection port on both sides of the weapon (making it ambidextrous), a muzzle brake at the end of the exposed barrel and a flat, possibly leather foregrip. On the left side ejection port has a handle attached, possible for clearing port jams. It has a piece of metal on the top of the grip, possibly the fire selector or the safety. The Machine Gun operates semi-automatic and fully automatic fire. It comes with forty and eighty bullet magazines, which have possibly rubber buttplates. Outside of the immediate design, the machine gun has two extra equipment on it; a flashlight found under the barrel and a 2x scope above the trigger and grip, giving it limited sniping qualities. Notably, Corporal Cortez seems to use a sharpshooter variant that, while unchanged from the outside, seems to be semi-automatic only and fire a different round that is highly damaging. During the player's first encounter with Cortez, this version proves to be powerful enough to kill a Berserker in one single headshot. However, it can not be obtained by the player and is not encountered again during the rest of the game. It is also notable that this version produces so little recoil that when Cortez fires it one-handed and with a folded stock, it still barely moves. Upgrades Before departing the USS Hannibal for the first time, Sergeant Swekel will give you a Machine Gun with an 80-round magazine. Strategies *In-game, the Machine Gun does 20% extra damage if the bullets hit Strogg flesh rather than their metal or armor. It is the only weapon in the game that appears affected by the type of material it impacts. It's flashlight is operable with the F key and the scope, when used, reduces the weapon to semi-automatic fire. *The Machine Gun is good for taking out weak enemies like Guards and Grunts, but is less effective on mid-level or heavy enemies, especially on the higher difficulty settings (it takes 20-30 rounds to kill a Gunner or Berserker on Normal, and nearly twice as much on Very Hard). Headshots are helpful, especially in zoomed mode, as the Machine Gun does little damage per shot. In addition, its good accuracy means that you can take on targets from up to medium range and be able to kill them with little difficulty. While it is not obvious due to the lack of tracer rounds or a dynamic crosshair, the Machine Gun does have some modest bullet drift, so while it is still effective at long range it will takes more bullets to kill an enemy as not all bullets will hit the target. *When looking down the scope, try to hit the enemy's head. Just remember that, no matter how well you're hidden, the enemies will find and begin firing at you, so don't get too comfortable in one spot. *While using scope, Kane will fire semi-automatically only. *The 80-round magazine makes the Machine Gun much more useful, as many higher-level enemies require more than 40 rounds to kill, especially on the higher difficulties. The Machine Gun also eats up ammo very quickly, so you should alternate between it and other weapons such as the shotgun to avoid running out of bullets. *Overall, the Machine Gun is a good all-purpose weapon throughout the game, although it is outperformed by the Hyperblaster and Nail Gun, especially against tougher foes. Because ammo for it is quite common, and because it is one of only two weapons equipped with a flashlight (the other being the weak Blaster), it will probably see a lot of use, especially in dark areas. Trivia *In all the in-game cinematics, Matthew Kane is holding a Machine Gun regardless of what weapon he is holding previously. *Despite being there, Marines never actually use the stock. This is possibly due to the range that combat happens in Quake 4, being rarely longer then fifty meters. *Along with Blaster, this is the one of two weapons that have flashlight attached, it will replace the former as the primary flashlight. Category:Quake IV weapons Category:Weapons